


Look Up Child!

by StreetNerd



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Star Trek: The Animated Series, Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Father Figures, Hurt/Comfort, Other, Stranded, Time Travel, Young Spock (Star Trek)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:20:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22490098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StreetNerd/pseuds/StreetNerd
Summary: The Enterprise crew are sent back in time to determine whether or not there is sentient lift on a Tridawn-IV, a planet that would fall into the hands of the Klingon Empire some thirty years later. But after stepping through the Guardian of Forever portal on Vulcan, the crew encounters some technical difficulty, and leave Uhura and Checkov stranded on Past Vulcan, and McCoy stranded in the jungles of present-day Klingon-occupied Tridawn-IV. But McCoy soon discovers that he was not transported there alone - a strange Vulcan child was caught up in the energy beam as well. A Vulcan child who seems all-too familiar.
Relationships: Amanda Grayson & Spock, Leonard "Bones" McCoy/Spock, Sarek & Spock
Comments: 10
Kudos: 44





	Look Up Child!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spock, eight-years-old and deeply troubled, sits through a make-shift Christmas eve celebration with his mother in the family garden on Vulcan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first attempt at writing a fan fiction all of my own! I hope someone in the galaxy likes it at least! I plan to have some awesome Spock / McCoy moments- with both kid Spock and adult Spock.

2238

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.”

Amanda’s gentle voice filled the warm late-evening air as she read. A warm glow illuminated her features, as she read from an ancient-looking Terran book. The red glow of T’Kuht bathed the gardens in a serene sea of light and shadow. How beautiful Amanda looked in the candle-light.

The circumstances under which she was illuminated in candle-light however, were far from ideal. Every federation standard year, on the 24th day of the Terran month called ‘December’, Amanda insisted on garnishing a small earth tree in the family’s central garden, with candles, sweets, fruits, and silks. On the top, she mounted a small clay figurine of a lovely woman with large wings, in a long white dress. An ‘angel’ - according to Terran religion - he had been told.

When his age-mates had found out about this strange behaviour that his mother exhibited, he had been teased about it for weeks on end. But then again, his getting teased by his age-mates was not an unusual occurrence at all.

His age-mates were not the only ones to disapprove of the ceremony. His own father, of course, did not participate in the bizarre ritual. In fact, last year Spock had glanced up at the family home while him and his mother were seated by the tree - and he had seen his father, Sarek, looking out at him with dark, disapproving eyes. Spock had forced himself to meditate for eight hours straight that night, to rid his mind of the senseless feeling of ‘shame’ that he had developed as a result.

Tonight, he had resolved to not look up at the house, and to push thoughts of his father’s judgement out of his mind. He would focus instead on his mother, and how his participation in the ceremony pleased her.

Amanda, smiling gently, looked up from her book, and into Spock’s own dark brown eyes. 

“Are you warm enough, sweetie?”

“Yes mother,” Spock replied properly, ignoring the frivolous use of a nickname. His mother rarely called him ‘sweetie’ anymore, at least not in front of Sarek. Spock remarked, with some mild interest, that he did not mind the use of the nickname tonight.

She reached out and stroked his soft cheek. The touch was invasive - but Spock had learned not to mind. Whenever his mother touched him, Spock could ‘feel’ her feelings, and sometimes even her thoughts. For Spock was a very sensitive touch-telepath. His mother, being of the planet Earth, was not - so his mental privacy when touching her always remained intact. 

He was often amazed by her wild emotions, passions, and ideas. Spock, of course, was occasionally subject to these as well - but he would never admit it. In fact, if it weren’t for his mother’s touch, Spock might have thought that he was the only one who endured these internal fires.

She planted a soft kiss on his forehead. Spock leaned away, slightly, to convey his discomfort regarding her latest action.  
She smiled again. “Sorry Spock… You’re just getting to be such a big boy. I love you so much.”

Spock bowed his head. “You honor me, Mother.”

“Oh Spock!” Amanda giggled and gave him a playful swat on the head. “You are so ridiculous.”

Spock was pleased to have induced a state of humor. He enjoyed making his mother laugh - although he would never admit it. Or do it any time they weren’t alone.

The light from the candles danced on their faces as they sat in silence. The ‘ginger-bread’ sweets his mother had placed on the tree smelled quite satisfactory.

“Are you ready to open your present, Spock?”

Every year on this night, his mother gifted him an object, wrapped in paper she had decorated. He had tried, year after year, to explain to her the illogic of this frivolous act. The object was still itself, and would always be, regardless of any coverings it may have.

“I know, silly,” she had said, “but it it weren’t wrapped, it wouldn’t be a surprise!”

He had also refused, year after year, to open his present. And every year, Amanda tried again.

There was no sense, this year, in informing her yet again of the unnecessity of the wrapping, and that he would not indulge himself in such frivolity.

“Okay Spock, I’ll tell you what.” Amanda said, leaning in toward him and lowering her voice. She had on an air of great secrecy, and Spock felt a shiver of excitement rush up his spine. He would address that later. “You undo the bow, and I will unwrap it for you. Deal?”

Spock took a moment to ponder the suggestion. He could see no reason that untying a simple knot would add to frivolity - and the bow DID need to be untied, in order to proceed with the unwrapping. And he was beginning to grow curious about what would be inside this year’s package…

“Alright Mother,” Spock replied decidedly.

Amanda beamed. “That’s my boy.”

She held out the package to her son. Slowly, Spock reached out to touch the bow. It felt soft and velvety beneath his small fingers. He looked back up at his mother, who nodded encouragingly. He grasped the two loose ends of ribbon, and pulled them apart slowly. 

“Well done Spock!” Amanda cheered.

“Mother, not so loud!”

“Okay, watch carefully now, here we go.”

Spock maintained a mask of indifference as his mother’s long, elegant fingers began to rip off the packaging that she had previously taped on (illogical) - and tried his best to make it look like he was not leaning forward to get a better view of the contents.

When the wrapping paper was off, Amanda opened up the box, and handed it to Spock to look inside. Spock slowly reached out and accepted the now open box. 

He looked in, and almost gasped. 

“Oh Mother, what is it?” he asked, pulling out a long, golden object that gleamed under T’Khut’s glow. It felt smooth and delicate, and it warmed up quickly beneath his touch - indicating a high conductivity. It really was golden!

“It is a telescope, Spock. An old terran telescope. It dates all the way back to ancient Earth, just a few centuries after Surak walked the deserts of Vulcan.”

Spock did not notice that his jaw was now dropped.

His mother continued. “It was originally used by sailors - Earth has many big oceans - and sailors could easily get lost because the seas are so big. During the day, there was no way to tell where they were. But at night, they could take out their telescope-” she gestured at the one in Spock’s small hand - “and point it at the stars, and look through it, and follow the stars like a map, all the way home.”

“But there are no diagrams or charts!”

“I know - they just knew where in the universe they were, just by looking through it.”

Spock did not speak, he just stared, his mind wholly fascinated by the object and its mysterious past uses on an alien planet.

Amanda got out of her chair, and knelt down beside Spock’s own. 

“Go on,” she said to her son, “have a look.”

With shaking hands, Spock brought the small end of the golden telescope up to his eye, and aimed it at the stars. It was definitely ancient technology - he was used to the high-definition hyper-telescopes at the Junior Academy. But this one had something that the others didn’t quite have. Was it his imagination, or did the stars glow brighter through this one?

“Thank-you mother. Your gift brings me great satisfaction.”

Amanda kissed him again. “Do you remember which star Earth’s sun is?”

“Of course, mother, it is the one seventy point six one three degrees away from T’Khut’s -”

“No, Spock, I mean, if you looked up through the telescope and just…. Saw… Would you know the sun?”

“I am not sure I follow your train of thought, Mother.”  
“Of course you don’t…. But then again, how could you?” 

They sat in silence, once more, beneath the starry sky. The candles on the tree were beginning to burn out one-by-one.

“Spock, can I ask you something?”

“Of course, Mother.”

“What do you see at night, when you look up?”

Spock blinked. “I see a variety of light spectra emitted by various galaxies and their corresponding-”

“Spock. My dream for you, is that one day, you will look up, and not see… facts and numbers. I want you to see mystery. And beauty. I want you to feel tiny and be amazed by the size of our universe, and stand in awe of what might contain. I want you to look up and see with your heart, instead of your mind. I want that for you more than I want anything else.”

Spock looked down at his telescope. He rolled it around in his fingers a few times, unsure of what to do or say. How could he possibly comply with his mother’s wishes - when they were so wildly illogical?

“I’m sorry Spock… I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“I am a Vulcan. I do not become ‘upset’.”

“Ah… I must have forgotten…”

A Le-Matya howled somewhere far away.

“Hey, my little Vulcan - those gingerbread cookies are going to get cold. What would be the logical course of action?”

Spock couldn’t help but grinning.


End file.
